


My Duckling

by MusicalSnowflakesmp124



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: :), Dream Apologist, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Son Relationship, Prison, i lied angst coming, no beta we die like wilbur soot, not too much angst, we stan puffy, why does everything ok the smp move so goddamn fast?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29133471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicalSnowflakesmp124/pseuds/MusicalSnowflakesmp124
Summary: Puffy gets Dream out of prison
Comments: 82
Kudos: 350





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> dream’s in prison now guys, how we feeling?
> 
> school is a bitch and i can’t write as much now
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

Puffy pushed her hair back behind her ear, but it hardly did any good. Her foot tapped anxiously on the ground. She traced the hilt of her sword lightly, trying to calm her racing thoughts.

Dream told her during her last visit a few days ago that he was getting out today, and though she was excited, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. 

A hand tapped on her shoulder and she jumped, twisting and drawing her sword. It was pointed at Sam’s chest. Her eyes blazed with fury. Sam was the one who put her duckling in this absolute hell. She nearly lost her shit when she found out the conditions he was living in. He deserved to be in prison for a bit, she couldn’t deny that, but it shouldn’t be a prison like this, it should be a place where he could learn and grow.

This prison was pure punishment. 

Puffy lowered her sword. “Sam,” she said curtly. His expression looked strained. 

“Change of plans Puffy. Dream’s not leaving today.”

The words barely flew through his lips and she already had her sword against this throat. “What the hell do you mean? There’s been a change of plans? My duckling is supposed to be out of that hell hole today Sam. Why the hell isn’t he being let out today?”

Sam didn’t even flinch at the sword. “We’ve decided to extend his stay for another year.”

“Who the fuck is we?” She was about two seconds away from cutting his head off. Dream was in isolation, unable to go anywhere, and hardly anyone besides her had visited him, she wanted to know why he wasn’t getting out. 

“Me, Tommy, Quackity, Punz, and,” he hesitated. “Sapnap.”

“I don’t fucking care what you guys said. What you’ve done is inhumane and degrading. You’ve locked him up with nothing but a clock and some books, no human interaction besides me and people who’ve come to yell at him, barely any food, and you’ve fucking tortured him when he disobeys you. If you don’t let my duckling out of that cell right now, I’ll cut your head off and get him out myself.” 

Sam sighed. “You can visit him okay Puffy?”

“Not good enough Sam. Let him out, now.” Her voice is deadly and laced with ice. She won’t hesitate to kill Sam. He’s put her duckling through so much. “Let him out. Now.”

Sam hesitated then nodded once. Puffy lowered the blade, but gripped it tightly. Sam walked over to the lever and said, “Wait here.” 

She nodded and watched him disappear into the depths of the prison. Ten minutes later he returned. 

Dream was there in shackles and a collar and Puffy almost murdered Sam. She was normally not a violent person, but knowing what these people had done to her basically son? Watching her duckling wither slowly into a hollow shell of himself, broken beyond belief? That did the trick. 

“Take the cuffs and collar off of him,” she said quietly. 

“Puffy-“

“Sam I swear to god, take those goddamn shackles off of him or else.”

Sam didn’t hesitate when he pulled out the key and undid the shackles and collar. They fell to the ground with a thud. Dream rubbed his purple and black wrists gently. Puffy sheathed her sword and tentatively stepped forward. 

Then Dream’s arms were around her wrapping her in a tight hug. She hugged him back. “It’s gonna be okay duckling. It’s gonna be okay Dream.”

He didn’t say anything and only hugged her tighter. She rubbed his back, murmuring words of reassurance. Eventually she pulled away to see silent tears streaming down his face. 

Her hand reached up to cup his face and she wiped away the tears. Without looking away from Dream she said, “Sam, give me his mask.” 

“It’s okay Ms. Puffy I don’t need it-“

“Do you want it?” she asked gently. Dream didn’t answer at first, then nodded. 

“Sam, his mask.”

Sam merely sighed and walked over to a chest. He handed Puffy the mask and she handed it to Dream. He managed to crack a small smile, but it was strained. Puffy’s heart constricted. Her little duckling looked ready to shatter. 

“Come on Dream,” she said. “Let’s go to my house.”

That’s when Sam stepped in. He pressed an axe against Puffy’s throat. “Puffy, I can’t let you do that.”

She couldn’t turn without getting her head chopped off. “Sam. I’m taking my duckling to my house. I’ve put up with him being in the prison for long enough.”

“Puffy, if you take Dream to your house, I’ll have to kill you.” 

Puffy paled, but didn’t back down. “Sam, get out of the way. Dream has been rotting away for long enough.” She pushed the blade of the axe away, cutting herself in the process. Blood streamed down her hand but she didn’t care. Her sword was in her hand again and pointing at Sam’s chest. “Get out of the _fucking_ way Sam.” 

If it came to a straight fight she was going to lose. She had been getting better at PVP, but Sam had height and experience on her. 

It was dead quiet. “It’s okay Ms. Puffy,” Dream whispered. “I want to go home, but I don’t want it to be at the cost of you getting hurt.”

Puffy shot Dream a look. “You’ve been in here for too long. I’m taking you home Dream.” She looked back at Sam. “Five seconds Sam, move.”

He didn’t. 

“Four. Three. Two-“

She gave him one more chance to move. In all honesty she didn’t want to kill Sam. 

“One.”

Puffy slashed her sword down at his legs, leaving a deep gash in his right leg. She grabbed Dream’s hand and tugged on it, urging him to come with her. It took a second, but the two of them started running. 

Puffy barely managed to keep up with Dream. She forgot he was a speed runner, and he overtook her quickly. _Jesus her duckling was fast._

They didn’t stop until they reached Puffy’s house, and by then it was darker than obsidian. She opened the front door, expecting someone to be there, but there was no one. 

Puffy sighed gestured for Dream to come in. He followed tentatively, shutting the door softly behind him. His mask was still cliched tightly in his hand. “You didn’t have to do that Puffy.” 

“You’re my duckling Dream, and I can’t let you be in there any longer.”

“Puffy, they’re going to try and kill you now,” his voice sounds strained. 

Puffy only smiledreassuringly. “I can protect myself Dream.”

Dream trembled slightly. “Puffy, you’re the only one I have left, I can’t loose you.”

Puffy opened her arms, an invitation. “You won’t loose me my duckling. I’ll be okay. Are you going to be okay?”

Dream accepted and hugged her tightly. They both sink to the floor and Dream lets out a sniffle. She ran the hand not covered in blood through his hair, humming softly. Chirp was always his favorite disc. 

“Puffy I’m scared.” Dream’s voice is soft and terrified. He’s looking up at her with wide, fearful eyes and her heart breaks.

“I know Dream, I know. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“Please don’t go.”

“I won’t. I’m here as long as you need and want me. You’re safe Dream. I’m not going to leave. You’re safe.”

“Puffy, am I really going to be okay?”

“Yes Dream, you’re home, you’re safe.”

“Thank you mom. Thank you for bringing me home. Thank you for helping me...” his voice trailed off. 

Puffy heard light snoring and she looked down at Dream, his head in her lap. He’s sleeping peacefully, not a care in the world on his maskless face. She doesn’t stop humming, or running her hand through his hair. Her duckling was safe now, she wasn’t going to let anyone take him back to that prison. 

She smiled as the words play back in her mind. He called her mom, he’s never done that before. All she knew now was that she was going to keep her son safe. 


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Dream getting out of Prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW holy shit i didn’t expect it to do so well in the first few days. 
> 
> thank you guys so much!!! 
> 
> i have now been inspired to do a series, not sure how long it’s going to be, or how often i’ll be able to update so please bear with me. 
> 
> sorry for the short chapter. 
> 
> enjoy!!!

When Puffy woke up on the ground the next morning, Dream was gone. She jumped up and grabbed her sword, anxiety filling her immediately. 

Puffy grabbed her sword and gripped it tightly. She wandered the house quietly, listening for any signs of life. 

There were none. 

Getting desperate, she called, “Dream?” No response. She ran out the front door, mind racing. _If they had taken her duckling, if they had harmed him at all, she was going to kill them._

The rising sun hit her face, but she didn’t stop to take in the beauty of it. “Dream,” she shouted. “Dream!”

“I’m over here mom,” Dream called back. She spun around and Dream was in the farm next to the house, harvesting wheat, potatoes, and carrots. Puffy sighed in relief. “There you are. I was so worried they’d taken you again.”

She walked over to him and smiled. “I’m sorry mom, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“That’s okay Dream, come here.” She opened her arms and he hugs her back tightly. “I’m just glad you’re safe my duckling.”

“Oh I never asked, but i’d it even okay if I call you mom?” He sounded nervous and a little scared. 

Her heart broke a little more, her duckling shouldn’t be scared, he shouldn’t be scared of her. But he was anyway. He was scared of her, scared of her reaction.

“Of course duckling. I’m happy to be your mom, I’m _honored_ to be your mom.”

The hug becomes even tighter. 

“Thank you mom.”

“Of course duckling, now how about I go in and make you some breakfast yeah?”

Dream let her go and Puffy smiled at him brightly, masking the worry. He beamed back, smile even brighter. Then he turned back to the farm and Puffy made her way back into the house. 

As soon as the door was shut she slid down the wall and put her head in her hands. Sam and the others would be coming soon. She knew that with certainty. 

Her duckling was in danger. Her son was in danger. Quickly, she wiped away a few tears and stood up, steeling herself. There wasn’t any time to waste, and spending that time doing nothing wasn’t doing her any favors. 

She walked to the kitchen and started baking a cake, she wanted Dream to have something sweet and warm, rather than raw potatoes. Her teeth ground together at the thought of what Dream had to endure while in prison. She forced her mind away and focused back on baking. 

Puffy would deal with the consequences of what she’d done later, for now though, she had to prepare. As soon as the batter was in the oven, she gathered every weapon in the house and started sorting them into piles. 

Internally, she cursed herself, she should have had more weapons than she did. She was a goddamn knight for Christ’s sake. But she was a builder, not a fighter. Pushing those thought aside, she started sharpening every weapon. 

When she finished, the dullest knife could cut through a chunk of solid wood like butter. 

The door opened and Dream stepped into the house, covered with dirt and arms clutching a basket of of food tightly. He had a wide smile on his face. Puffy set the knives and swords aside and went to go grab the cake for the oven as Dream set the basket on the table. 

She watched him carefully as he picked up a knife and started peeling potatoes. He didn’t try anything. Though Puffy knew he wasn’t going to do anything, she still kept an eye on him. Some small part of her said this was a trick, a ruse. Though that part of her was small, she couldn’t ignore it. 

She watched him for too long and when she finally turned her attention back to the cake, she noticed that her hand was resting on the oven rack. A flurry of curses escaped her lips as she pulled the cake out quickly with her bare hands and threw it onto the counter.

The sink was already on and Dream was there, getting bandages and burn cream. Her heart warmed a little, knowing that her duckling was trying to help her. She ran her hand under the water and nearly sighed in relief as the pain started to go away. 

“Did I do good mom?” Dream asks tentatively. 

“Of course darling. Of course you did good. You immediately turned the sink on to help and got out the burn stuff.” She motions with her other hand for him to come closer and he does, bandages and burn cream in hand. Puffy stands on her tiptoes, hand partially coming out of the water. She plants a gentle kiss on the top of Dream’s head. 

“Dream, even before all of this, even when you were just a teenager, you were my duckling, my son. You’re doing wonderful darling.” She musses up his hair a bit. “Now do me a favor and close the oven.” 

He walked away to close it, purpose now filling he stride. She smiled after him and turned her attention back to the running water. Her hand hand come out from under it, and she moved so the whole thing was covered again. It felt nice. Not just the water on her hand felt nice, Dream finally being home, her son, overcoming his strange desire for power and manipulation, getting past the bad times and onto better ones. 

When her hand felt better, she reached over and grabbed the burn cream. The cream was smooth and cold and it felt much better than the water. Gauze and gauze tape sat nearby. 

“Let me help with the bandages,” Dream said. “I’ve gotten hurt plenty of times enough to know how to do it. Plus, it’s hard to do it on your own.”

“Believe me Dream, most of the time I was helping you heal up. Especially when you were a kid. Jesus the amount of bruises you came home with after playing manhunt and fighting mobs was insane. You were a reckless kid.”

Dream laughed as he finished wrapping her hand. “Yeah, I was a dumb kid.”

“You’re a dumb adult too,” she teases lightly. They both laugh and trail off into silence. Puffy walks over and grabs the cake, cutting two large slices for them. 

They spend the rest of the day cleaning her house and getting ready for the attack that was sure to come. Laughing and joking and being a mother and son. 

Later that night, Puffy takes Dream to her guest room and tucks him in, just like she did when he was a kid.

“I love you my duckling. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight mom.”

She ran her fingers through her hair and then kissed him lightly on the forehead. Then she quietly left the room and went to her own. She promptly crashed on her bed, exhausted. 

Her anxiety was gone as she drifted to sleep, thinking about all the things she could do for Dream while he recovered from his time in prison. She smiled as she remembered how he didn’t call her Puffy once today, only mom. Seconds later, she was asleep. 

Puffy woke up to find a knife on her throat not ten minutes later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you all enjoyed the new chapter, please tell me of ways i can improve the story further
> 
> have a wonderful day!!!
> 
> <3


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was so inspired i had to write more.
> 
> plus, i had more time to write because no school work!
> 
> i really hope you like it!!!
> 
> enjoy!!!

The knife dug a little deeper into her throat and she couldn’t move, could barely breathe. For a moment, she thought it was Dream, cursing herself internally for being so stupid and letting her guard down. The she realized it was _Sam’s_ bright green eyes flashing with fury. A wave of guilt flowed through her. Her duckling wouldn’t have done this, and she cursed herself for thinking otherwise. 

“Don’t make one fucking sound Puffy or I slit your throat.”

She didn’t try and move. The light in the hallway flipped on and her eyes darted to the door. Quackity, stood there, covered in blood, and Puffy almost jumped up trying to wrap her hands around his neck. The knife on her throat kept her from moving though. 

Quackity smiled. “Got em.” 

Sam looked at Quackity and Puffy saw a smile flash across his face. He lifted the knife off of her throat and pulled on her arm, forcing her to stand. 

“What the _fuck_ did you do to Dream? What the _fuck_ did you do to my son?”

Quackity spat at her feet. “You’re ‘son’ deserves to rot in hell.”

Puffy lunged but Sam pulled her back and put the knife against her throat again, drawing beads of blood this time. “Puffy I swear to god, I will kill you if you try anything else.”

Puffy went tense and stiffened, not moving. Sam drew the knife away and practically dragged her out of the room. Almost every light in the house was on, and there are four people in the entry way. 

Punz was closest, fists bloodied slightly. Fundy was there as well, along with Jack Manifold and _Dream_. He was knocked out, face blackened and bloodied. His fists were torn open, bleeding slightly. He tried to fight back, and even if it didn’t work, she felt a rush of pride. Puffy wanted to kill all of them for hurting her duckling. 

“Puffy, Dream is fine, just knocked out. We can deal with him later. You on the other hand-“

Quackity interjected. “You helped Dream escape Puffy, now you’re going to _fucking_ come with us so you can stand trial.”

“For what? Taking my son home? Letting him be free?”

“For helping a psychopath escape. And either you come with us Puffy, or you die, right here right now.”

She wanted to say, “Kill me then you fucking coward,” But anxiety clawed in her chest. She couldn’t help Dream out of this if she was dead. She couldn’t figure out some way to get them both to survive if she was dead. 

So instead she just nodded. “Mom, no,” Dream coughed. He wasn’t knocked out after all. Puffy’s head turned to him. Punz punched Dream in the jaw. She rushed forwarded find a sword at her chest. Her eyes blazed with fury. “Shut the _fuck_ up Dream,” Quackity said. 

“Don’t you fucking touch him,” Puffy managed to get out through gritted teeth.

In retaliation, Fundy kicked Dream in the gut. He keeled over and groaned. “You’re lucky he’s not dead yet Puffy,” Jack said, staring at her with emotionless eyes. His sword pressed a bit deeper into her chest. 

Puffy didn’t hesitate, she pushed the sword aside and kneeled down next to Dream. Blood dripped down her arm from where she pushed the blade away. 

She hugged Dream close. “It’s gonna be okay duckling, it’s gonna be okay,” she murmured. Dream whimpered slightly. She ran her fingers through his hair. “How fucking _dare_ you,” she whispered. It was dead quiet. 

“You come here, to my house, after we have done nothing wrong, and you beat up my son and threaten to kill me.”

“You broke Dream out of prison Puffy, you knew the consequences,” Punz said. 

“Is it wrong to want my duckling out of prison? Is it wrong for him to come home after two damn years rotting away? You put him through hell. You said he was going to be out, and then you go back on that? He’s been doing better, therapy has been helping him get better, you saw that, you recognized that, and then you fucking say, ‘Never mind’. No. Not how this works.”

“He blew up a country and threatened two children, not to mention various other crimes.”

“HE’S OVER COME THAT,” Puffy shouted. “HE’S BEEN DOING SO MUCH BETTER.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters! We need to be helping people not punishing them.”

None of them responded. For a moment, Puffy thought she’d changed their minds. 

Then she was being forced up again, chains being wrapped around her wrists. Fundy wrapped Dream’s whole body in purple tinted chains and she tried to get closer to him, before Sam pulled her back again.

“If you struggle any more,” Quackity said. “You’re fucking dead Puffy, that’s a promise.” 

She didn’t fight anymore. Sam forced her out the front door and threw her into a cart. A prisoners cart. They threw Dream in after her, and she cradled her son. “I’ll get us out of this Dream, I promise.”

Dream didn’t answer, only hugging tighter into her. “I’m sorry mom,” he whispered. “I got us into this, I fucked up.”

“You didn’t do anything darling, they shouldn’t have kept you for as long as they did. They should have helped you, not punished you. Even if they don’t see it, you’re doing so much better. You’ve overcome so much. And I know it’s been hard, but I’ll be here, I’ll find a way to get out of this.”

“I don’t deserve to get out of this, I don’t deserve redemption.”

“Of course you do duckling, of course you do.” Puffy started running her fingers through his hair again, trying to calm him down. 

She started humming softly, Chirp. Dream’s favorite song. Slowly, as the cart moved steadily along back to the prison, he started to relax. 

* * *

It was dawn when they finally approached the dark building, shadows blocking out the sun. Puffy shivered in the cold. The cart ran over a bump and Dream jolted up, eyes wide with fear. He struggled against the chains and Puffy out a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently.

“It’s okay Dream,” Puffy said softly. “It’s okay.”

Dream didn’t answer and just tensed even more as the prison cast out all light and warmth. Puffy had visited before, but now it took on a new light, or rather, lack there of. 

Despite trying to be strong, a sliver of fear managed to show on her face. A shiver ran up her spine and she shuddered. The cart jolted to a stop and she was almost sent flying. Her head did bang on the side of it though, and her vision went dark for a moment. 

The next thing she knew, she was being pulled out of the cart by the chains around her wrists. Dazed, she vaguely registered the fact that she was being dragged through dark corridors. Potions being splashed on her as they ushered her through burning lava. 

They threw her into an empty cell. “Where the hell is my son?” she asked, voice hard. Though she was still light headed, she had to know where her duckling was. “Where the hell is Dream Quackity?”

“None of your fucking business.”

Then Punz behind him perked up. “He’s back in cell Puffy.”

“What are you gonna do to him?”

They didn’t answer her, walking back to the exit. 

“Kill him of course,” Quackity called. Then the door slammed shut. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so so so much for reading, i cannot express my gratitude enough.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed the chapter and let me know if i can do anything to improve the next one!! 
> 
> have a wonderful day 
> 
> <3


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trial Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy- wow
> 
> the amount of support from you guys commenting and leaving kudos and just reading this is amazing and i can’t thank you enough
> 
> school is a bitch and it might be another week or two before i update again
> 
> once again, thank you all so much
> 
> enjoy!

The next few days passed in a daze. Every time Sam came to bring her food, she demanded to see her son. He always refused. 

The days bled into each other and Puffy felt like she was losing her mind. If this is how she was being treated, she could only imagine Dream was going through worse.

The cell was small, barely enough room to lay down, and she was the smallest person she knew. Her legs had grown weak from lack of use, and whenever she attempted to stand, she always collapsed after a few minutes. 

On day unknown, she was writing in the small diary they had given her. She had been writing nonstop, and to an extent, it scared her. Words flowed out of the penand marked on to the paper, every thought and feeling encasing her. Too big to let fester, too small to to say out loud. 

She had just finished the sentence when the door creaked open. Her head snapped up to see Sam walking closer. His footsteps grew louder and after a moment of silent watching, she turned back to the diary and blew on the ink to dry it. 

Sam unlocked the cell. “Trial day Puffy.”

“What do you mean, ‘Trial day?’” she asked looking up at him. 

“Trial day, the day we decide what to do with you.”

“Let me see Dream.”

“No.”

She sighed and tried brushing her fingers through her tangled white hair. It’s lost it’s puffiness in the days she’s been here, she’s looked worse and worse each day. Dirt and grime were smeared on her face, clothes, hands, and arms. The chills on her arms were now a permanent staple from the freezing temperatures. Her pants were torn in some places, though she had no idea how that happened.

“Who’s the judge for this trial?”

Sam hesitated, then replied, “Eret.”

Puffy relaxed a bit. Eret might not give her the harshest sentence possible. “Who else is gonna be there?”

“You’ll have to see won’t you?” 

Puffy spat at his feet. Sam simply moved out of the way and attached the chains to her wrists. He forced her to stand and shoved her out of the cell. She looked to the wall of lava on the other of the room. Her heart shattered a bit more when she thought about Dream there, all alone again. 

Sam pulled her along, keeping an axe resting casually on his shoulder. A warning. She tried to ignore it. 

The court house wasn’t too far from the prison, and was a very recent edition. She should know, she helped build it. Puffy almost laughed at the irony. The white columns shone in the blinding morning light. She didn’t have time to savor the warmth of the light or the freedom, because seconds later her was being ushered into the courtroom. 

It was slightly warmer than the prison, but not by much. Goosebumps that had started going away from the outside warmth snapped back into place. It looked exactly as a courthouse should, with one key change, there were jail cells on the side of the defendant. The lever on the judge’s stand shone menacingly. 

Sam had rigged the lever to where if the defendant acted up, one flick and they’d be surrounded in obsidian and dropped six feet down. 

The chains grew heavier. 

Sam shoved her into the cell and the door slammed shut. A few minutes later, people began filing into the court room. 

What surprised her the most, was to see that Tubbo took his place at the defendant’s stand. He gave her an encouraging smile and sat down, reviewing his notes. 

Puffy was filled with pride. After Dream had been put in prison for the first time, she had helped Tommy and Tubbo through their trauma. They’d become like nephews to her, and they had both grown up so much. It wasn’t a ‘grown up too quickly,’ situation, it was more of, ‘you’ve matured and grown from your mistakes.’

Tommy never forgave Dream, and neither did Tubbo, but they learned to move on, and they were even willing to do group therapy on multiple occasions with him. 

Eret entered last, taking his place on the judge’s stand. They looked at her and gave her a small smile before turning to the court and banging their gavel. “Order.”

The room went dead quiet. They pushed their glasses up a bit more, making sure that their eyes were completely covered. Puffy was one of the only people who knew that Eret was mostly blind. They had white eyes as a product of that blindness. 

“Court in session.”

Everyone took a seat except Puffy, who was forced to stand due to the lack of space. It was still icy cold despite the heat blasting in the room. Her legs shook with effort, not used to standing for so long.

She didn’t know if it was her sense of dread, or the lack of space, but the walls closed up on her. Her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to get the feeling to go away. 

“Puffy, you know why you’re here,” Eret began. Her eyes snapped open. “The charges brought against you are breaking a high security prisoner out of prison. If convicted you will receive a minimum sentence of 2 years in prison, a maximum of life in prison, or in the most severe case, execution.”

Her face paled. 

“Obviously it won’t come to that,” Eret reassured her. It don’t work very well. 

She tried to contain a whimper of fear. That didn’t work very well either. Tubbo noticed and smiled reassuringly. Somehow, this worked better than Eret’s reassurance.

Tubbo was smart, if he was sure they could win, then they might be able to.From the prosecution’s stand, Quackity glared at her. If looks could kill, this one would have. 

“How do you plead?”

Puffy bit her lip before saying, “Innocent.”

Eret nodded. “Then we proceed. Opening statements, prosecution, you’re up first.”

She could barely focus on the trial, head spinning with a dozen scenarios in which this could go wrong. In which it _would_ go wrong. Her heart sped at the word, “Death,” from Quackity.

It took all her strength to not start hyperventilating. 

When Tubbo finally took the stand to make opening statement, _How was it still opening statements? Hours have passed right?_ , she was trembling badly. Several people were looking at her, and to her shock, Philza Minecraft was one of them. He smiled at her before turning back to Tubbo.

She didn’t particularly like Philza too much, he was never a real father to Wilbur and Tommy, spending all of his time with Techno, his best friend. On top of that, he didn’t even try to save Wilbur, or Tommy, in their worst moments. 

However, knowing Philza, a fellow parent, was there, eased her nerves a bit more. Puffy focused back on Tubbo. 

“My client has done nothing wrong, Your honor,” He started voice confident and strong. “You agreed to let Dream out of prison, she simply took him home so he could begin recovering. The two years in prison took its toll, and Puffy needed to help Dream adjust back to the world. I won’t lie when I say I hope to never go though the same treatment that Dream went through. Your honor I’ve seen Dream’s progress, it’s been remarkable. He’s gone from almost killing me and Tommy, to being a kinder, better person. His time in prison was up, and Puffy shouldn’t be punished for bringing her son back home.” 

Another wave of pride surged through her at Tubbo’s words. Eret was nodding along before settling back in their chair. 

“Let’s continue then. Quackity, call your first witness.”

Quackity smiled. “Tommy Innit, will you please come up to the stand?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hope you liked this chapter, please leave any comments if i can improve something
> 
> one last time, thank you so much for the amount of hits and kudos on this fic
> 
> have a wonderful day!
> 
> <3


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trial day continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, wow, wow, i cannot thank you all enough for the love and support on this fic
> 
> i hope all of you are enjoying it so far and i really hope i can update a bit more often
> 
> sorry for the kind of short chapter, school has been kicking my ass
> 
> enjoy!

Puffy hadn’t even noticed that Tommy was in the room her eyes darted quickly to him. He squirmed slightly in his chair and Puffy felt her sense of uneasiness grow. What did Quackity have up his sleeve?

“Tommy, come on.”

He hesitated, then stood and walked to the witness stand, avoiding Puffy’s eyes. There was a bit of shock on his face at being called up. Puffy glanced at Tubbo, whose eyebrow was raised in confusion, then at Philza, whose eyes were narrowed with suspicion. 

Quackity uncharacteristically showed no emotion. 

“Tommy, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“I swear.”

There was no hesitation in his voice and Puffy’s sense of dread grew worse. Quackity smiled and walked up. 

“We’re here today because that _bitch_ ,” he pointed at Puffy. “Broke a psychopath out of prison three weeks ago. I am going to ask you a few very simple questions Tommy. Then, unless the defense has anything to say, you’re free to go.”

“Okay,” Tommy said not meeting Quackity’s gaze. “Don’t call Puffy a bitch, you prick.”

Quackity’s eyes narrowed. “Tommy you said on the night of March 15th you saw Puffy with Dream going to her house correct?”

“That is correct.”

“And Dream was still a prisoner at that time correct?”

“Well...” Tommy scratches the back of his head. “He was supposed to be let out that day right?”

“He was, before you and a few others changed it to extend his sentence by another year.”

“Oh right- wait, I never said for another year. I just said a day or two more so we could reevaluate one last time.”

A few hushed mutters skimmed through the crowd. Puffy felt her heart stutter to a stop. Tommy wanted Dream to be let go? Only a few more days? Her blood boiled. 

_“You lying, cheating, bastard,”_ she yelled at Sam. “How the fuck could you do this to Dream? He's gotten better, he's been doing well, and you know that. Yet you continue to blame all of you're goddamn problems on him. _All of you!_ " she accused. _"All of you blame everything on him."_

"Puffy," Eret said. "Please calm down."

"NO! You put my son through this _hell_ and you expect me to calm down? What. The. Fuck. I would have been fine for two more days, he would have been fine for two more days to get reevaluated. AND THEN YOU DECIDE TO PUT HIM IN FOR ANOTHER _FUCKING_ YEAR?" 

Puffy's breathing heavily, rage consuming her. She wasn't mad at Tommy, she could see why he would want to do one more reevaluation. She was fucking _pissed_ at Sam, Quackity, Punz, and especially Sapnap. 

"I can understand the need to do one last check-up, make sure he's okay, BUT AN ENTIRE GODDAMN YEAR?" Her face blazed with anger, and everyone, including Quackity, looked a little scared. 

"Puffy if you don't calm down, I'll have to pull the lever." She glared at Eret, and he flinched away visibly. 

"Continue Quackity."

"Puffy, this not a trial for Dream, this is a trial for you, and you helped a prisoner escape," Quackity said before turning back to the witness stand. Though she was still livid, she managed to calm herself down enough to not scream. "Tommy, you did agree to extend his stay though right?"

"I did." He shifts a bit, looking down. "But only so we could do one more therapy together and then go from there. I didn't want Dream in there for another fucking year, mans been though enough."

"I didn't ask your opinion, Tommy. So basically, you saw Puffy and Dream on their way to Puffy's house while Dream was still supposed to be in custody correct?"

"That is correct."

"The witness saw Puffy with Dream on the night of the breakout, while Dream was still supposed to be locked up, therefore, Puffy broke the law. Your honor I have no further questions."

"Defense do you have any questions for the witness?"

"I do actually," Tubbo replies standing up. He walks over to Tommy. "Tommy, I want you're opinion, do you think Puffy should be in jail?"

"No of course not. Puffy is amazing and shouldn't have to be in there." Tommy looked at Puffy with a grin, though his eyes still held a hint of fear. "I don't think Dream should be in prison any longer either. I won't forgive him for what he's done, but I've moved on, and learned to judge him by his current actions, not his past ones."

"Your honor I have no further questions," Tubbo said smiling warmly at Puffy first, then Tommy. Tommy got down off of the stand and walked over to Puffy. 

"Thank you Puffy, for everything you've done. I'm sorry I can't help more." He bit his lip and looked away, regretful.

"Its okay Tommy, now don't forget to be good, and go home. Get some rest." She held no anger in her eyes for him. Quietly, she wished he could have helped more as well, but she knew that there was only so much he could do. He shot her one last regretful look, then gave her an encouraging thumbs up. Tommy walked out of the courthouse, and Puffy wishes she was walking out too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bet you didn’t see that coming did you?
> 
> *grins evilly*
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, again sorry it’s so short
> 
> have a wonderful day!!!
> 
> <3


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haha trial day part three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit wow, this is amazing
> 
> thank all of you so much for your love and support on this work and i am so happy that you guys enjoy it
> 
> i really hope you like this new chapter 
> 
> ily all so much and enjoy!

"Okay then, next witness. Defense, you're up next."

Tubbo's grin grew wider slightly. “For the next witness I call up Mr. Sam Dude, who was there when Puffy took her son home and when her house was broken into."

Sam's face held no expression as he took the stand. Eret repeated the same words they had to Tommy when he had taken the stand. "I swear," Sam responded blankly. 

"Defense, you may proceed."

"Sam, you were there the day Puffy took Dream home right?"

"That is correct."

"Was she informed prior to that day that Dream's time was to be extended?"

Sam hesitated for a split second. Puffy's vision went red with anger as he said,"She was."

Sam was blatently lying. If Puffy wasn't in the cell, she would have strangled him. As it was, she audibly ground her teeth together, and in the silent courtroom, it was the loudest sound. "Can you walk me through the events of that day?" Tubbo asked.

"I got there early to start my shift, Puffy had informed e that she was going to be arrving before 9 am to come visit Dream. When she got the, she was visibly tense, and she greeted me before she began demanding for Dream to be let out. She pulled out her sword and told me that if I didn't get Dream in two seconds, she would cut my head off. Like anyone would in that situation, I got Dream and brought him up front."

Sam paused and wiped his brow. "After that she held a sword to my throat and told me to take the chains off of Dream. I complied and without another word they took off running."

Tubbo rasied an eyebrow, skeptical, but he didn't say anything. 

"Bullshit," someone in the courtroom said. Puffy's jaw dropped when she saw Philza standing up. "Utter bullshit. Puffy wouldn't do that. I may not know her well, but she doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would do that. And if she did, I would have done the same damn thing if it meant my son could come home. She shouldn't be punished for wanting Dream to come home and then acting on it."

No one spoke. He rested his hand on his sword for a sliver of a second, a warning, a dare for someone to challenge him. 

"Philza please sit down," Eret cut in from the judges stand. Philza shrugged and shot them a withering look. Eret visbaly recoiled under his gaze. Puffy noticed a smile flit across his face before he sat back down. 

Puffy, no matter how much she disapproved of Philza as a father, was warmed by his words. Maybe it was naive of her, but just knowing someone else would have done the same thing to get their kid back, it made her feel a thousand times better.

“Sam continue,” Eret said firmly. 

“I regrouped with the others and we resolved to get Dream back. Puffy as well for breaking him out.”

“Can you jump forward to when you entered Puffy’s home?” Tubbo asked. 

“It was about midnight. The lights in the house were on and we knocked. Puffy answered and refused to let us in. We asked a few more times and eventually Dream showed up, axe in hand. It was at this point we used force to enter the home and bring Dream and Puffy in to custody.” 

“That is fucking bullshit and you know it Sam,” Puffy seethed. “That whole story was bullshit. Every damn word was a lie.”

“Puffy,” Eret warned, hand hovering over the lever. “Watch it.”

“You are a fucking _liar_ Sam. You know that’s all bullshit. You know tha-“

She doesn’t get the chance to finish, as her words are cut off by her scream as she falls.

There’s a loud crack as she lands hard on her leg. Darkness surrounds her. She can’t see anything. There’s no light, barely any air, and there’s hardly any room to sit. Her lungs constrict a bit with the sudden lack of air. 

She struggles to her feet, howling in pain as another crack comes from her leg. Staring straight up she can’t see anything, it’s an empty black void. 

She starts hyperventilating. Every part of her wants to run, to get out, to find light and warmth and space. Thewalls feel like they’re closing in on her, not letting her move or breathe or think because there’s _no space._

They won’t hear her if she screams. They won’t hear if she pounds on the walls and begs and cries and  _please she just wants to get out._

But that doesn’t mean she’s not going to try. 

“Please,” she shouts, “Please let me out.” She pounds on the sides of the wall. “Please. Please.”

Her voice grows softer and she sinks to the floor in agony. Tears slide down her face. “Please.” She begs. “I don’t like the dark. I don’t like the small spaces.” 

She’s always been a free spirit, a wanderer and a builder. Someone who moves and grows and makes things bigger, not smaller. 

They can’t hear her though, so her hours (Was it hours? It felt like it.) of screaming and pleading and begging were useless. 

She wasn’t getting out of the dark. She wasn’t getting out of the box. 

In agony, she managed to scoot to a corner and adjust her broken leg to where it wouldn’t hurt as badly. The pain didn’t stop, if anything it got worse, but at least she could position it okay. Fire surged up from her leg and she wanted to scream. 

Was she ever going to get out of this box? Was she ever going to get out of the dark? Or would they just leave her here to rot until she died. 

More tears when she thought of that possibility. She would never get to see her duckling again if they left her here. Never get to see her son again if they left her here. 

The silence that followed that revelation was deafening. She could hear every breath she took, every heartbeat, every tiny movement that she made was heard. 

In a desperate attempt to stop the quiet, she covered her ears and screamed until her voice was completely gone. It didn’t work. The silence only grew louder. She pounded on the ground until she felt blood run down her hands, any way to hear something was better than nothing. 

She couldn’t close her eyes, because what good would that do? It was already pitch black, there was no point. Staring into the darkness only made the silence grow. 

“Please,” she whispered, voice horse from screaming to the empty blackness. “I don’t care if I die, I just want to get out of the box.”

No one heard her of course, and time stretched on. It could have been days and she wouldn’t have known. Ten seconds could have passed and she wouldn’t have known. 

In the quiet darkness, she started to cry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for reading!! 
> 
> once again i cannot thank you enough for the support on this fic
> 
> i’ll try and update again soon, but school
> 
> have an wonderful day everyone!
> 
> One final note, if I see anyone using slurs or derogatory language in the comments I will delete the comment immediately, and I ask you to never comment on my work again.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> perspective switch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit wow, i feel like this is getting repetitive, but thank all of you so much for the support. 
> 
> whenever i see someone commented i get a smile on my face because you guys are enjoying the story, and i am extremely grateful for all the kudos and hits.
> 
> all of you are amazing and i hope you enjoy the new chapter!!!

Dream had his clock, his books, and his potatoes.

He didn't have his mom though, and that all he really wanted. 

Every time Sam came, or sometimes it was Quackity or Punz, he begged them to let him see his mom. Sam said no. Quackity laughed and spit in his face, with vaugly threatning comments coming after. Punz just said sorry and then left.

He was completly numb to this cell now, just rocking back and forth and messing with the clock. A few times he did write in his journal. He wrote about he missed his mom and how she must be doing awful. Because while he was used to the space and not having any room to move or think or breathe, his mom wasn't.

The cell was actually quite big for a cell, but it was always stiflingly hot and he couldn't really move around too much because the heat drained all his energy away. It was morning, (or maybe night he couldn't tell) when Sam came into give him water. Lots of water. 

He drank three bottles in five minutes and nearly threw up. 

"Easy Dream, if you drink too much more you'll get sick."

Dream raised an eyebrow at Sam. Why was he being nice? He didn’t dwell on if for too long, just grateful to have water for the first time in days. 

He set the water aside and asked quietly, "Can I see mom?"

"No. Puffy isn't available today. She's on trial and at the moment she's debating on whether or not to take the plea bargin."

"What was the offer?" Dream asked dreading the next words.

"Testify against you in your trial in a few weeks and walk away with no punishments, or an undecided amount of time in prison." Sam showed no visible emotion, but his voice was tinged slightly with glee. 

"Mom wouldn't..." he trailed off. His mom might do that, it was a very likely possibility, considering that she wouldn't want to be in prison. 

"I don't know. She seemed pretty open to the idea of it."

"Mom wouldn't leave me in here right?" he whispered to himself. "She wouldn't do that right?"

"Don't count on it kid. Your mom may be selfless, but she also isn't stupid. If it comes to saving her own skin or you, she's going to pick herself."

"Mom wouldn't do that, she said, she said I deserve redemtion and that everything was going to be okay." His voice cracked at the end. 

"Your mom lied, kid."

Dream felt his stomach drop. His mom wouldn't do that right? She wouldn't leave him right? She wouldn't have lied to him, his mom doesn't lie to him.

Right?

Dream turns away, on the verge of crying. 

He doesn't see Sam's smirk of satisfaction. 

"It'll all be over soon Dream, this mess, one way or another its gooing to be over soon."

Dream didn't hear him, and Sam left, only to return a few minutes later with a visitor. 

"You have someone here to see you Dream," Sam said. Dream turned and saw Tommy standing there, looking at Dream with sympathetic eyes. Sam smirked and turned and walked back out of the lava.    
  


Dream fully expected Tommy to start shouting. Maybe hit him if Tommy was extremely angry, Dream wasn’t sure. But he definitely expected some kind of negative emotion from Tommy. After all, he had gone home without being properly released. 

Tommy stood there awkwardly for a moment before walking forward and sitting down next to him. Then he did something that surprised Dream. 

He hugged him.

Dream was frozen for a moment, before he wrapped his arms around the child and started to cry. Dream knew it wasn’t fair to Tommy, but he couldn’t stop, weeks of pent up emotion flowing out of him. Tommy didn’t comment, just hugging him tighter for a moment before letting go.

“I’m sorry Dream. This whole situation is fucked. I didn’t want you to be in here for another year, I didn’t want Puffy to get arrested. I would have stopped those pricks if I could.”

He held onto Dream’s shoulders, staring hard into his eyes. Dream’s eyes were red-rimmed, but he’d stopped crying. “Me and Philza and Techno have been thinking about breaking you out. We could.”

“No.”

“What’d you mean? No?”

“I deserve this. You guys were right two years ago. I deserve to be in here.” 

“You deserved it then, you don’t deserve it now. People grow and changed and you learned from your mistakes.” Every word Tommy spoke was sincere. “We’re breaking you out of here Dream, because you deserve to go home.”

Dream smiled and hugged Tommy again. Tommy hugged him back. He still thought he deserved this, but he did want to see his mom again, even if she didn’t want to see him. 

“We have to get mom out too,” Dream said urgently.

“We would, but we can’t find Puffy anywhere. She’s not at her house or in the prison or anywhere in the SMP.”

“What? Sam said she was deciding whether or not to take a plea bargain.” The worry in his voice grew. “Said she was considering testifying against me.”

“Puffy wouldn’t do that Dream.”

“She would to save herself.”

Tommy didn’t answer for a minute, finally he spoke. “Possibly, but Puffy isn’t like that.”

“How do you know?”

Tommy had no answer for that question. Dream sighed and stood up, stretching. Tommy followed, watching Dream closely. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” Dream said after a moment. “We still need to find her.”

“We do, Philza is trying to find her. She was put in the box at the trial and hasn’t been seen since.” 

Dream clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms and drawing blood. “Mom hates small spaces. If they- oh god.” His eyes widened. “Tommy she’s probably still there.” 

Tommy let loose a string of curse words. “Dream, we’re breaking you out tonight. Then we’ll get Puffy out. If anyone tries to bother you two again, they’ll have to answer to me, Philza, Tubbo, and Techno.”

Dream looked at Tommy, resolve in his eyes. “What’s the plan?”

Tommy grinned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> it was a bit different since it was from dream’s perspective, but i had a ton of fun writing it
> 
> once again thank you all for the love and support and i hope all of you have a wonderful day!


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> back to puffy again, have fun :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, i don’t think this will be a regular thing, but i really wanted to write more and i finished the next chapter
> 
> once again i cannot thank you enough for the love and support
> 
> i hope you all enjoy!

Darkness, endless, beginning, darkness. Freezing cold as well. No sound other than her own, too loud, thudding heartbeats. 

Aching hunger coursing through her, so much so that she didn’t feel hungry after a while. The thirst was something that never went away though. The endless dry ache in her throat that couldn’t be quenched. 

Puffy felt so much pain from her leg, and it wasn’t helped by the lack of air and food and water. It manages to get worse, even after days of not moving it. She was sure it had been days at this point. The huger and thirst were too great to argue otherwise. 

So with each passing minute, the pain in her leg grew worse. 

And worse. 

And worse.

Every second of the day now she was in agony not able to focus on anything but the pain. She would have screamed out loud if her throat wasn’t so dry. 

The slightest movement that she made to her leg, caused her to silently scream, sending air rushing into her deathly dry throat. 

Sleep came in quick, short moments, and the only reason she knew that was because she could see in her dreams. Colors and light and warmth. She knew that they weren’t real because there was only the pitch black cold silence of the real world. 

Her dreams normally consisted of her son. Him as a young child, running around and being a mischief maker. A few times she dreamed of falling into the box, and after that she was never sure if she was awake or asleep. 

The only way she could normally tell was from the pain following the dreams. Pain from her eyes and face mostly, but also from her arms. She felt blood running down her arm once. 

A few times, she felt tears running down her face and leaking from her eyes, or was it blood? She honestly wasn’t sure at this point. All she knew was that it was wet. It was normally after she had been asleep, and her eyes always hurt afterwards. 

She was pretty sure it was tears. 

It had to be right?

Puffy was dying and she knew it. Her throat was so dry she couldn’t open her mouth without it hurting. Hunger clawed at her insides, and when she touched her stomach she could feel every single on of her ribs. Her head always felt dizzy and when she breathed, she never got enough air into her lungs.

And so this endless sting of time and painful silence and internal agony passed, with no start and no end. 

* * *

“Puffy,” a voice above her said. 

She looked up but it was still dark. “Puffy,” the voice called again. Was that-?

“Tommy?” she called up. Her voice was light and frail. It hurt when she spoke. The slightest thing could break it. 

“Yeah. I’m dropping a rope down, can you grab on?”

She shook her head. She was too weak to do anything. 

“Okay,” she heard Tommy say. “I’m coming down, Techno get ready to pull us up.”

Techno? 

She heard someone land next to her and pick her up. It was Tommy. Why couldn’t she see anything? She gripped him tightly as he grabbed the rope. 

“Techno, pull us up.” 

They start moving upwards and Puffy holds on to Tommy tighter. She feels someone grab onto her arm and pull her up. Whoever it was hugs her close. 

“Mom it’s okay. It’s okay mom.”

“Dream?” she rasps. She still can’t see anything. 

“Mom, it’s okay it’s me. It’s Dream.” He hugs her tighter. 

She feels him let go. “Dream I can’t see.” Her voice cracks. She knows her eyes are open. They are open right?

“Dream, her eyes...” Techno trails off. Her eyes? What was wrong with them?

“Mom,” his voice breaks. “There’s blood everywhere on your face, what- what happened?” 

“I don’t know,” her voice was just getting weaker. “Water, please.”

Someone hands her a bottle and she downs it in four gulps. She downs another. And another. 

“Don’t drink too much to quickly, you’ll get sick.”

Puffy nods and lets out a string of coughs. She can breathe fully again, and it hurts. 

“What’s wrong with my eyes?” she asks, voice a tiny bit stronger.

“There’s a lot of blood, I can’t see them through it. Mom what happened?”

“It wasn’t tears. It was blood.”

“Mom what are you talking about?”

“Dream I can’t see anything. I can’t see you, I can’t see light. I think I may have done something.”

“We have to clean her eyes and face Dream,” Technoblade cut in. “We can go back to my house. Come on.”

Someone grabbed her hand and started pulling her along before she screamed in agony. Her leg let out a few more cracking noises and she landed hard on the ground. "It's okay mom," Dream whispered. "Its okay." 

Puffy heard Techno speaking with Philza. “Broken leg, bloodied face, those guys really fucked her up,” Philza said quietly. 

“Seven days, I’m honestly surprised we didn’t find a corpse.”

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. “It’s okay Puffy it’s just me,” Tommy said softly. It was a bit unnatural, hearing that gentleness out of the normally loud and energetic child. 

“We’re going to help you Puffy.”

Someone, probably Dream, scooped her up and carried her. Her ears picked up on a pair of footsteps walking away. Tommy probably?Puffy hated that she didn’t know. 

She heard the indistinct whispers of Techncoblade, Tommy, and Philza ahead of them? Maybe behind? She wasn't sure. 

"Its okay mom, we'll help you, you can go to sleep I promise you're okay."

She reached her hand up until she found his face and she gently carressed his cheek. Puffy felt a few tears slide down his face and she wiped them away. "I'll be okay duckling. I know that you can take care of me."

He let out a small noise halfway between a sob and a laugh. "I learned from the best. Please rest mom, we'll be out of danger soon."

"Okay duckling. I love you darling." 

She knew that they were so far from saftey, that they would probably never be safe again, but she was just glad to have her son back in that moment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha 
> 
> :)
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone! 
> 
> have a wonderful day and thank you once again for all the comments and kudos and hits <3


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry, another perspective switch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fourth chapter in 3 days let’s go!!!!!!
> 
> yeah this probably won’t be a regular thing, sorry but i have school and stuff
> 
> i hope you all enjoy!

Dream watched his mom fall asleep, or was she awake? She was probably asleep. Her breaths had become more even and deep. At least she was alive. She didn’t know what he might have done if she was dead.

Dream tried to look away from his mom’s face but he couldn’t. It was covered in a deep red blood, especially around her eyes. Her arms were covered in blood too, and she looked pale and nearly dead. He let a few more tears slip before falling back with the others, the darkness almost causing him to pass them. 

“Is there a faster way to get you your house Techno?” Dream asked anxiously. 

“We could nether travel, but I don’t think Puffy would survive in her condition. Walking is the fastest way.”

He nodded, but he still didn’t like the idea of Puffy being carried there so slowly. Puffy’s house was closer, but even that had taken a day to get to. 

“Let me carry her for a while mate,” Philza suggested. “You need to heal too.”

Dream only shook his head. Puffy was his mom, he was going to be a good son, and take care of her. His mom twitched in her sleep and Dream held her closer. Puffy has to be okay. She had to make it through.

“Why would they do this to her? “ Dream whispered to no one in particular.

“Do you seriously not know? They need someone as a scapegoat for the problems in the SMP right now,” Techno said. 

“What problems?”

“As soon as you were thrown in prison, the SMP went to shit. Sure it was more peaceful, but no one knew how to actually take care of the important stuff,” Philza explained. “Villagers started charging outrageous prices, monsters spawned more frequently, pillagers ravaged the outside lands, and there was so much political infighting, a villager coming to Sam, Quackity, Niki, and Punz for help, was killed when a fight escalated.”

“Jesus,” Dream breathed. 

Tommy nodded. “Big Q and Tubbo may have run counties before, but this was five countries that needed to be regulated, they couldn’t handle it. Tubbo left after two days of infighting and power grabs and I don’t blame him.”

“And the problems only got worse,” Philza continued. “The breakout and trial was the distraction they needed to turn the public’s attention away from all the other shit going on.”

“But what about XD? Weren’t they there to help?”

Techno snorted. “Your sibling hasn’t been seen since me and Phil tried to go to the End a year ago. They stopped us and destroyed all but one portal block. We still can’t figure out how to replicate the others.” He sounded irritated. 

Dream sighed. His sibling was like that. XD only showed up to stop people from breaking the most important rule, _never go to the End._

“Why the fuck didn’t XD save Puffy?” Tommy asked. He sounded angry. 

“You know that Puffy isn’t my biological mom. She adopted me and XD when we were ten and sixteen. She took care of us the best she could, but once XD turned 18 and got their powers, they wanted to explore. Puffy let them go, and they still sent her letters occasionally, but it was always a distant relationship.”

“Plus,” he added. “I don’t think they even knew she was in there.” 

“They sound like a shitty person,” Tommy grumbled. 

“No they’re not, they’re really great, just adventurous and a bit distant.”

They were silent for a while, not speaking. Dream was lost in the forgotten days of his childhood. Running around with XD while Puffy laughed and tried to keep them out of too much trouble. Puffy reading bedtime stories and singing lullabies. Happy, blissful, peaceful, perfect memories. 

Now his mom was dying, XD was nowhere to be found, and he was probably going to be hunted down and killed. 

Puffy twitched again and Dream was pulled out of the memories. 

“Hey Dream, how good at riding horses are you?”

“What?”

Technoblade pointed a hand at a cluster of wild horses. Dream grinned a bit and said, “I’m pretty good.”

“Then that’s the fastest way back. You won’t be able to carry Puffy though. Phil can fly her back.”

Dream gave Techno a look that he was surprised Techno saw in the pitch black. Techno raised his hands defensively, “Hey at this point we don’t really have any other options.”

“I know,” Dream sighed. “I just don’t want to lose the only person in the world who still cares about me. I don’t want to lose my mom.” His voice breaks at the end. 

Philza placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not just one person in this world who cares about you mate. You won’t lose Puffy, we can save her. But I think the only option left is to let me carry her to Techno’s house. Unless you have wings, in which case you carry her back.”

Dream hesitated, not wanting to let his mom go, but he let Phil take her. He hooked his arms under her legs and back and unfurled his wings. The black feathers were barely viable in the darkness. 

“I’ll keep her safe.” Without another word he took off, soaring into the night and disappearing from view. 

Dream watched the empty sky until Techno pulled him along towards the horses. “We’ll be riding bareback so it’s going to be hard as hell to hang on.” 

Dream walked over to the nearest one, a white one, just like Spirit had been, before she had died. He hopped up onto the horse and it reared a bit before settling. His arms were wrapped around its neck tightly. 

“You ready?” Techno called.

“Yeah,” Dream called back. Tommy replied, “Hell yeah.” Then the three of them raced into the dark oak forest a few hundred yards away, heading for Techno’s home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for reading, i think i’m going to slow the pace down more in the future to work on character stuff.
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed the new chapter and thank you so much for the love and support, i will never be able to thank you enough.
> 
> have a wonderful day everyone <3


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> puffy perspective, i don’t know if this will become a regular thing, but i think it might

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha i told you it wouldn’t last
> 
> school is kicking my ass guys help
> 
> HAHA tommy’s stream today guys how we feeling? 
> 
> anyway, thank you all so much for the love and support of this fic i hope you enjoy the next chapter and please tell me if anything i write is offensive or misrepresenting a group of people, i don’t mean any harm in it if i accidentally misrepresent anything
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Puffy only knew she was awake because she could hear and smell and touch things again. She groaned slightly and someone rested a hand on her shoulder. 

“You’re alright Puffy. You’re at Techno’s house?”

“Phil?” she asks. Her voice cracks. 

“It’s me Puffy. Can you see?”

“No. Everything is dark. Phil why is everything dark?”

“Puffy,” he hesitates. “Puffy your eyes close they’re damaged beyond repair.”

She grabs at her eyes frantically, feeling that they’re open, and, we’re those gashes?

“How?” Another crack. One more and she might shatter. 

“You must have scratched at them while you were in the box. Puffy, you won’t be able to see again.”

She starts sobbing. She would never be able to see again. Never get to build epic structures and explore and see her son’s face again. 

Phil rubbed her back gently, wrapping one of his wings around her. She was trapped in the darkness, forever. And she couldn’t do anything about it. 

“You’re leg is reparable though, a few healing potions and a couple of weeks of rest should heal it up.”

“Are you sure sure you can’t do anything about my eyes?” she pleaded. 

“I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything.”

She wipes her nose with her arm. “Phil, is Dream here?” 

“No him and the others are still traveling home. It’s a three day journey to Technoblade’s house by walking, two by horse back, two hours by flight.”

“Okay. Did you fly me here?”

“Yes.”

“Was it beautiful?” Her voice shattered. 

“It was, I wish you were awake to see it. I wish you could see it Puffy. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to help you.”

“It’s not your fault it’s mine.”

“It’s not your fault either, it’s Quackity and Eret and Punz and Sam and, I am going to rip all of them apart and have fun doing it.” 

She finds his hand. “Don’t. Do not rip them apart.”

Philza doesn’t say anything. 

They’re quiet for a while. Finally Puffy asked the question playing in her mind for quite a bit. 

“Phil, can, can you read to me? I wouldn’t be asking if I had my sight but, I don’t want to be in the silence anymore.” 

“Of course. What do you want me to read?”

“Something, anything, I don’t really care. Just something to block out the quiet.”

“Puffy did anyone come to give you foot or water? Did anyone come to give you company?” His voice sounded further away. The sound of things being moved and falling arched her ears.

“No,” she answered simply. Phil didn’t comment further, but she thought she heard his teeth grind together. His footsteps sounded closer and her ears perked up when a chair beside her moved. 

“This one is an old favorite of mine and Techno’s.” She hears the turning of pages and Phil clear his throat. Reluctantly, she settles back down before an ache in her throat starts acting up. It’s dry. Very dry. 

“Phil, um, I hate to ask, but can I get water?” 

“Of course.”

The sound of an unscrewed cap, and a bottle pressed into her hands. She brings it up to her lips, Phil adjusting once or twice, but she manages to drink all of it. The dryness is contained for the moment. 

“Can I get some more?”

“Fine, but no more than three bottles for now okay? You’ll get sick if you drink too much.”

She nods in response and the second bottle is placed in her hands. All of it is gone i’m a minute or two and for now, she’s okay. 

“I’m good now.”

She tries to focus on the story, she really does. But she can’t. All she’s focusing on is the words, the smoothness of Phil’s voice and how it fills the room. How it’s not silent anymore. 

Especially that.

“Phil,” she interrupted. He paused, waiting for her to speak. “They must have known that you got me and Dream out. They must have figured it out by now.”

“I imagine they have,” he agreed. 

“Then what are we going to do when they come for my duckling?”

“We protect him, _and you_.” 

“But I’m useless. I was never a very skilled fighter to begin with, and I’m blind now, I can’t see or-“

She feels a hand on hers. “Puffy, we can train you. We can help you."

Something resonates with her in that second. She doesn't know what, but what she does know is that shes's going to protect her duckling at all costs, even if it kills her, she's going to keep her son safe. Puffy feels her face harden.

"Train me."

"We will just-"

"Not tomorrow, not in two days, right now. We start now." 

"No Puffy, you need to-"

She cuts in again, staring at the place his voice was coming from. "Now Phil. We start right now."

Phil doesn't speak, only sighing. "Fine, we can try something today." She hears the book close. Something soft is placed in her hands. "Its a cloth for around your eyes," he explains. "Even though you can't see, they can still be damaged by outside forces and get even worse than they already are." 

She pulls the cloth over her head and down to her neck, getting all of her hair out of the way before pulling it up around her eyes. It a bit too loose. 

"Hey Phil, can you make it a bit tighter so the cloth doesn't slide down?" 

There's a beat of silence, and then the sound of Phil smacking his forehead. "Yeah of course." Puffy tilts her head in confusion and then shrugs, not caring why there was hesitation or why Phil was hitting himself. She moves her hair out of the way. 

He tightens it just enough to where it isnt uncomfortabe or painful, but its nice and not sliding down her face. 

“Thanks,” she says when he’s done. 

“Anytime. Now, we do have a slight problem. When you fell, you broke your leg, badly. And it hasn’t been given anytime to properly heal. I gave you health potions, but it won’t do much. Honestly, you’re lucky you can still most likely walk after this.”

He mutters something under his breath that Puffy can’t quite catch. All she’s feeling is panic. She might not be able to walk _or_ see?

She starts hyperventilating.

“Puffy, breathe. It’s okay. You’re okay. I promise.” 

She tries to steady her breathing, it kind of works. “Okay, I’m okay,” she repeats trying to reassure herself. 

“Exactly,” Phil says encouragingly. “So we can’t do close or melee combat, but we can work on ranged. Archery, knife throwing and axe throwing. Archery is the most effective in killing, but the other two can injure nicely.”

She nods in response. When she could see she was a good shot in archery and when using a crossbow. “Phil, help me up please.”

“I still think this is a shitty idea, but okay.” 

He helped her stand and with a *one, two, three,* separate cracks in her leg she barely contains a scream before almost falling. Phil catches her and scoops her back onto the bed, forcing a health potion down her throat. 

“What did I tell you mate?” Phil said glaring at her a bit. “I said it was a shitty idea. 

If Puffy still had her sight and didn’t have a cloth wrapped around her eyes, Phil would have seen a glare that would have frozen the nether over. As it was, she simply used her words. 

“Tell me you wouldn’t do the _same damn thing_ if the roles were reversed. Or Tommy or Wilbur had been taken.”

All she heard was a small sigh. Puffy knew she was right, because parents normally went to hell and back for their kids. She’d been to hell for Dream, and now all she had to do was get back to him so she could protect her son. 

And no one was going to stop her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for the quality and the shortness of this chapter, i wanted to get another one posted and i didn’t really edit this one
> 
> despite this, i hope you enjoyed the chapter everyone!
> 
> have a wonderful day <3


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mom and son reunite!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry guys for the long wait, I’ve been tied up with school and haven’t found time to really write. I don’t know how long the next chapter is going to take, so I’m sorry for the long wait on the next chapter in advance.
> 
> HOLY WOW THE SMP LORE IS JUST *chefs kiss* with the new people
> 
> yeah so this whole fic.... um, never going to be even a tiny bit canon no matter how much i wish puffy would come and help dre get better 
> 
> anyway, i hope you all enjoy this <3

Dream, Techno, and Tommy were home in a day and a half. Dream had barely slowed his horse down before he was sprinting into the house, door swinging open in rusty hinges. The wood banged against the wall and Techno called something that was lost to the wind. 

Puffy sprang up and Dream was filled with instant regret as she trembled a bit. Phil came rushing up the stairs and sighed with relief. Then he shot Dream a withering look. 

“Sorry,” Dream mumbled. 

Puffy tried jumping up at the sound of his voice, before Phil warned, “If you stand up, your leg is going to be even more broken than it is.”

Puffy hesitated, then leaned back down. Dream walked quickly over to her, about to lift the cloth off her her eyes when she grabbed his wrist, mouth in a hard line. 

“No Dream. The cloth is on for a reason.” Dream pulled back immediately. 

“I-I didn’t mean- I’m sor-“ 

Puffy cuts him off with a hug. “It’s okay duckling, you didn’t know. It’s okay.” 

She continued reassuring him for a few moments more, before she pulled away. Drwam didn’t want to let go, but he did anyway.

"How was the trip back?" she asked casually. As if he was just coming back from a manhunt, not breaking out of prison. 

"Long, I wish it had been faster. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alive." She mustered a smile and it hurt Dream to see his mom like that. 

A movement caught Dream’s eye, Phil, waving him over. He squeezed his mom’s hand gently and said, “I’ll be right back, I have to go clean up.”

“Since when have you ever cleaned up?” Puffy laughed. Dream smiled weakly. Puffy’s laugh sounded strained and dead, not the normally joyful and wheezing laugh he knew. 

“Today’s a good day to start.” 

He follows Phil downstairs, where a worried look was plastered on the hybrid’s face. 

Phil doesn’t hesitate, jumping right in. “They’re coming.”

“Who-“

He doesn’t get the words out before Phil smacks him with one of his wings. “Quackity, Sam, Jack, Punz, any of this familiar?” The last four words were sarcastic.

“Yeah, yeah okay. How long do we have?”

“I don’t know, I scouted the Smp last night, Quackity’s place specifically. I didn’t see anything of use, except for five or six people leaving the house after midnight.”

“What can we do?”

“Three options. Fight, run, or hide.”

“I’m not running, I’m not hiding.” Dream hated the fact that Phil had even suggested the last two options.

“Mate, I know you want to stay and fight to protect your mom and your pride, but seven people? All maxed out in gear? With only four of us? Even with Tech and you, it’s a fight I’m not sure we’ll win.”

Dream clenched his fists, making little crescent marks in his palms. “Look, we can win. I know we can. We’re staying, we’re fighting.”

Phil let out a long sigh. “There’s something else. Puffy, she can’t see. At all. She’ll never be able to see again, and she can’t fight.”

Dream raised an eyebrow and Phil backtracked. “Not that she’s not a good fighter, it’s that her leg is so damaged it will take weeks, even with healing potions, to heal. Not to mention the amount of training she’s going to have to do because of her eyes.”

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the grime and dirt. “Okay, Phil. We can hide mom, and fight the rest of them.”

Phil merely sighed and muttered something under his breath that sounded like, “Stubborn bastard.”

Dream rolled his eyes and climbed the stairs again before calling, “Phil, where’s the shower?”

“Second floor, third door on the right.”

“Thanks.”

For the first time in two years, Dream was taking a shower. An _actual_ shower. He’d forgotten about the peace, the comfort. By the time he’d gotten out, then sun was going down. Time flies when you’re in pure bliss. 

“How was your shower duckling?” Puffy asked from the couch when he walked in. 

“It was-“ the words couldn’t be formed.

“Bliss? Peace? Wonderful?” Puffy suggested. Dream nodded absentmindedly before he realized that Puffy couldn’t see his response. “Yeah.”

“I’m glad.” She was beaming. 

Dream took a seat next to her, careful not to jostle the couch too much. A beat of silence. 

“Do you remember when I painted your nails?” Puffy asked Dream.

“Of course I do. Every five days I would ask for you to redo them. And after three months, you said, ‘Fuck it,’ and showed me how to do it myself.”

“I’m pleasantly surprised you do. Because I need someone to paint my nails for me.”

Dream smiled, but it was tinged with anxiety. What Philza had told him earlier was slowly creeping it’s was back onto the center stage in his mind. “Okay. Does Techno have-“

Puffy gave Dream a look that said, ‘Of course he does he’s Technoblade. Why _wouldn’t_ he have nail polish?’

“Point taken.”

“Tech,” Dream shouted. “Where’s your nail polish?”

“Drawer in the kitchen, outer edge of the counter,” Techno replied without hesitation.

“Thanks,” Dream called back. “What color do you want?” Dream asked in a quieter tone to Puffy.

“White if he has it, black if he doesn’t, and red if both those options are unavailable.”

Dream stood and went to find the nail polish. “Hey, Techno. What the fuck are these names?”

‘The blood of my enemies,’ (red), ‘The bones of my enemies,’ (white), and ‘Wither Skull,’ (black).

“Exactly what they say on the labels,” Techno said. 

“Hey. Hey Techno. Fuck off.”

There was only a small laugh as a reply. Grumbling about how Techno was an over dramatic bastard, he grabbed white and made his way back over to the couch. 

“What are the names?” Puffy asked. 

“Well, white, the one you want, is called, ‘The bones of my enemies.’”

Puffy let out a wheeze. “That sounds about right.”

Dream took her right hand, unscrewed the cap, and with the steady hand of a surgeon, began painting Puffy’s nails.

” _Okay, so what you want to do, is take it out, wipe some of it off on the edge, and make long, sweeping movements with the brush,” Puffy said smiling at Dream. “Like this.”_

_Dream watched as she carefully began painting her own nails. Each stroke was near perfect, with a few mishaps, mainly being Dream accidentally knocking over the bottle of black nail polish._

_“I’m sorry,” Dream said immediately, starting to clean it off the table._

_Puffy laughed. “It’s okay Duckling. Don’t be sorry. Instead of cleaning it, how about I get my paints?”_

_Dream looked at her confused. “What do you mean Ms. Puffy?”_

_Puffy smiled and grabbed her paints. “Paint the table, however you want Duckling.” She ruffled his hair before taking a bottle of paint and dumping half the contents on her table, nail polish forgotten as she made swirls and shapes and splatters._

_ Tentatively, Dream did the same, and a few moments later the two of them were covered in paint and laughing. “Mistakes can be fixed Duckling. Something bad can be turned into something good.” _

_ Dream took Ms. Puffy’s words to heart, never forgetting them, even years later in a cold and dark prison, where no one but her believed he was capable of change. _

He smiled as he worked on Puffy’s nails, just happy to have his mom here, alive and safe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for reading! 
> 
> i hope you liked this chapter, and i hope all of you have a wonderful day!!!!
> 
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! 
> 
> please kudos and comment if you enjoyed and if i can improve anything
> 
> i hope you have a good day!!! 
> 
> <3


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